Camacho Cigars, one of the first cigar makers to call Miami home, announced Monday it has been acquired by Switzerland-based Oettinger Davidoff Group, which plans on keeping the status quo at the Miami company's operations.

Oettinger Davidoff President and Chief Executive Reto Cina, 62, called it ''stupid'' to change any aspect of Camacho's business operations, citing how the private company is not in any financial trouble.

''You don't change a winning horse,'' Cina said.

Christian Eiroa, 36, will remain president of Caribe Imported Cigars, which does business as Camacho Cigars and handles marketing, sales and distribution. The Eiroa family also owns AgroIndustrias, a company that grows, rolls and packages all Camacho Cigars in Danli, Honduras. The companies will keep all 561 employees, with 27 working in the United States.

The only major executive change is that Eiroa's father, Julio, 71, has stepped down as president of AgroIndustrias. During his retirement, he'll focus on growing the tobacco.

''If we were ever going to sell our company, it would be to this one,'' Eiroa said. He added that Camacho's other suitors didn't care about family business values as much as Oettinger Davidoff did.

Financial details of the sale were not disclosed.

Last year about 335.2 million cigars were imported in the United States, which makes up about 6.09 percent of the cigar industry, according to Norman Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America.

The industry as a whole is seeing growth, but it's largely from machine-made cigars, Sharp said. ``If you're looking at the premium cigars, yes, they've been enjoying some growth. But compared to previous years, it's been a little bit soft.''

Sharp wasn't surprised to hear of the acquisition.

CHANGING INDUSTRY

''I think we'll probably be seeing more mergers and consolidations in the cigar industry in the foreseeable future,'' Sharp said. With the pressures facing the industry such as smoking bans and higher taxes, ``working in the tobacco industry is a challenge, and we'll see how many companies can meet the challenges.''

Cina said that if there are changes made to save costs in the future, it will happen in an ''appropriate time frame'' and changes won't be made if quality will suffer.

Eiroa said the two companies started talking about the idea of an acquisition last October, but added that there really wasn't one party that sought out the other.

''All of a sudden we found ourselves talking about the subject,'' Eiroa said.

The move means that Oettinger Davidoff Group, which has operations in the Dominican Republic, will be able to expand its presense in the United States. And Camacho's brand will get more exposure.

''It offers us a platform so we can grow a lot more aggressively,'' Eiroa said.

About 22 percent of Oettinger Davidoff's sales are from duty-free shops, and it has direct access to promote Camacho to these buyers.

TIMELY EVOLUTION

''We thought it was the right opportunity to be able to perpetuate the life of our brand,'' Eiroa said, adding that Camacho can become a worldwide brand in one year, whereas it would have taken his company five to six years to pull it off by themselves.

''Now Camacho will become one of the top 10 brands in the world,'' Eiroa said.

In addition, Oettinger Davidoff now has the option to expand the Honduras plant, in case a natural disaster ruins production at its operations in the Dominican Republic.

Caribe Imported Cigars, the distribution company of Camacho Cigars in the United States, has a portfolio of 10 brands: Camacho, Baccarat ''The Game,'' La Fontana, Legend-Ario, National Brand, Repeater, Deluxe, Don Macho, Don Felo and Nude Bundles. The company's most sold cigar is the Baccarat Rothschild.

Camacho Cigars was founded in 1961 by Simon Camacho and became part of Caribe Imported Cigars and the Eiroa family in 1994.

Oettinger Davidoff produced 30.8 million cigars in 2007 and has 3,344 employees worldwide. Its brands include the Davidoff, Zino, AVO, Griffin's and Winston Churchill. It has a presence in 120 countries, more than 200 company-owned sales outlets and 56 Davidoff flagship stores worldwide.

Eiroa said the acquisition will result in new brands being released, but not anytime soon.

''The goal right now is to keep things as they are,'' Eiroa said.

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